Can AI solve the housing crisis?

There are surely countless applications, but let’s focus on the most pressing need. If we apply AI to the provision of housing in the UK, what might the benefits be? Ideally, streamlining design processes and using automation should help deliver more affordable housing—or at least cheaper homes to rent or buy.

This reminds me of the last decade’s investment in modular housing. As I listened to the talk and considered the promise of emerging technology, I couldn’t shake that same underlying question: who benefits? In the case of modular housing, the answer turned out to be—almost no one. Despite significant investment, many initiatives ultimately failed. Maybe the benefits weren’t clear enough. Yes, modular construction promised better quality and safer building environments, but these are internal industry issues—fixes for problems that arguably shouldn’t exist in the first place. If modular housing had clearly delivered affordability or increased access, the wider industry might have united behind it.

The UK housing market still relies heavily on commercial developers to deliver the majority of new homes. While AI will likely be used to streamline processes, ensure regulatory compliance, and simplify construction—all worthwhile aims—that alone won’t be enough.

Michael Drobnik reminded us of Cedric Price’s famous quote: “Technology is the answer, but what was the question?”

We must first set the right question. In the UK, we should be asking: How can Artificial Intelligence help solve the housing crisis? How can it contribute to the delivery of high-quality, affordable homes for all?

AI must help reduce construction costs, speed up building timelines, and improve quality. The concern, of course, is that it may simply enrich a few. But let’s continue with optimism. Let’s hope it can address the needs of the many—to do so, we must ask the right questions.

SEW in dialog with AI

At Studio Egret West, we use AI as a sharp, practical assistant—supportive, not all-knowing. It plays a growing role in how we work, helping us ideate and curate imagery during early design stages, opening up new visual directions with speed and breadth. Behind the scenes, AI assists our team in coding, helping develop internal BIM tools and in-house plug-ins that make our workflows more efficient and responsive. We’re also using it to synthesise research and connect the dots: learning about the sites, cities, regulations and cultural norms before being able to dive into the projects.

We remain discerning about its limits, but also deeply curious. We're actively tracking the shifts happening across the wider technological landscape, keeping our finger on the pulse to understand where AI can genuinely add value—not just as a trend, but as a tool for better design thinking, collaboration, and delivery.

2 years on... AI trends in Architectural practice

Looking back at Studio Egret West’s Co-CreAIte exhibition, which invited us to explore the evolving dance between human creativity and digital tools, it feels like AI in architecture is settling into a new rhythm. Back then we hoped that AI would unlock a more democratic creative process and community involvement. Perhaps the current front-runners aren’t those chasing dramatic breakthroughs, but rather the synthesizers—those who cleverly weave AI’s speed with the studio’s own experience and knowledge. They’re not reinventing architecture overnight; instead, they’re quietly reshaping workflows, nudging us toward doing more with less—more homes, fewer mouse clicks, as Martha Tsigkari would say.

But is it really that simple? Maybe AI’s promise is less about magic and more about sparking a subtle collision between past expertise and future possibility, one that’s still unfolding.